the bar in use. This will have to do for now, It's not professionally shot, planned or edited video, and my nephew practically knocked me off the boat by jumping all over the place in the background while I was trying to restow the bar, lol but it will have to do. I can't yet seem to get facebook pictures of how I formed and padded my bar ends imported into this forum but I will keep trying, and of course answer any specific questions anytime.

Last edited by fastfriend on Wed Aug 22, 2012 8:02 am, edited 2 times in total.

Righting bars have been around a long time...and there has never been any question as to their effectiveness. They are way more effective than water buckets and shroud extenders that cost a fair amount of money. Some sailors have enough height, weight, strength and balance to allow them to use those aids fairly well, and more power to them. BUT the bar will work for them AND lightweights and people who are aging like me, or have other physical limitations, that don't keep them from loving these boats, but would otherwise cause them to consider selling a catamaran over concern about being able to right their boat. I am hoping that people realize how easy it is to make one...How ridiculously cheap it can be to throw one together (100%of the function of this design can be achieved with a 2x4 and some rope), and how easy they can be to use and stow. There are some beautiful variations on the theme shown in this thread, but none of them can be passed over to another capsized solo cat sailor on the water. I haven't had the chance to really test another theory, but just by extraplolation, if my 140 female friend had no trouble righting her 16, I would think that this bar would also allow a two man crew to double their effectiveness in righting a boat that had taken on water in the mast.

Brian, beautiful workmanship...I am assuming that the plexiglass rendition was the final version, and that the hinge in that picture set, was an earlier design that you used before you cut and welded the base of the bar to the angle you needed to slide the plexiglass plate into the daggerboard well? Were the nice plastic caps you have on your t-bar from the seitech dolly you cut up, or can they be had elsewhere??? Was that heavy plexiglass hard to locate, or is it available in a big box store?...I used wood for my inner end engagement lip mostly because it was cheap, easy to work with as a prototype, simple to carpet, and was a natural extension of the plywood square I was using to build the end box . In the end I was pleased that the wood covered with liquid electrical tape to rubberize it allowed me to so easily swap the pole between my boats, and it is kind of sacrificial...by that I mean that I feel comfortable that it would just pop out or break away, before it would damage the deck lip on the 16 or 17, should the pole ever bind in some odd way if I was being thrown around by waves. You have some really neat features on your pole...WAY nicer than my two buddy's 2x4's...lol... they are just learning the ropes, but even their first edition, low tech renditions of this concept are allowing them to sail with a lot more confidence. I am pleased to be on the pole bandwagon with a person with your vision and craftsmanship skills.

Fastfriend, Actually, no, the metal hinge is my final version. The clear plastic insert you see in some of the pictures broke the first time I went to use the pole (like a dummy I let go of the pole the first time I went to clip on the support line and "Snap!" it was done). The metal hinge isn't going to break and it allows for flexibility with the pole angle. I don't have any pictures, but I coated the hinge in "Plasti Dip" to reduce the possibility of scratches on the dagger boards. The rubber end caps came from Seitech. I think they were $1 a piece.

Fair winds

Last edited by BrianCT on Sun May 31, 2015 2:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I looked a little on line and then quit and went down to a friend's who runs a big machine shop, to ask if he knew where to buy that nice HIGHLY rounded square aluminum tube that you said came off a dolly. He said that it wasn't commonly available and that even if I found it, I probably wouldn't want to pay for it...lol.. So I just went merrily back to recommending my cheap round tube, because you could get a nasty scrape if you ran your leg down across a regular square alumimum tube edge. That stuff you found is SO the hot setup, but I really don't have any slip issues with the round tube after I coated it with the truck bed liner material. It gets used so little really. I wanted to keep it cheap so I don't have to worry about losing it somehow or someone walking off with it. That way it is always on the boat or trailer ready to go into service.

Yeah, it's great tubing but rather expensive. If you've ever seen the Hobie Getaway dollies, I believe it's the same material. I paid $65 for a 105" length plus shipping. All told I spent around $130 for the whole enchilada (welding cost me $30). There are definitely cheaper, equally effective options as you can attest.

You just caught me out of the water I bought a pre packaged 35 foot section of rope.... there's probably 3 feet of it anyway used up on that half hitch a round the head of the bar and I ended up cutting at least a foot and a half of each and before I was done... 35 feel give you lots to play with...

Brian CT ..I think a lot of peope would pony up the $65 plus for that tubing if they didn't already have a cheaper alternative lying around...inch and a half aluminum electrical conduit is $33..and regular square, I priced at like $48 plus shipping....would you please share a complete source address and phone and what to ask for...I've already finished two, one for each of my boats, but I can sell them very easily to my non-handy friends....I would at least consider assembling #3 out of your tubing if I could get it....great winter project.

Fastfriend, I lost all of my old bookmarks in a computer change but I can tell you I ordered the tube from Laser Performance in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. The tube I ordered was 105" longitudinal. I went with this length because the tube comes with two predrilled holes in each end that I wanted to remove. It isn't possible to order the tube without the holes thus you end up cutting off around 6" on each end. Good luck.

kdj...to better answer your question....the two rope leads extend just under 13 feet from the base of my outboard pole end. You may not use my big half hitch to fasten your line on to the bar, so I thought you might want to know that detail. If you just use a simple knot to retain your trigger snaps, it is very simple to shorten the line for your application by throwing another knot in the line, so you don't want to be short. I do like the big half hitch though..I have taken that line off the bar and used it for several other purposes already.